Hello Gang!My old P4 1.7 2GB of SDRAM is not cutting it anymore. I am ready to take the plunge and build a new rig. My budget is about 2,000 USD. In your experience and with this type of budget, what are your recommendations for the following:1. Motherboard2. RAM (Type and speed)3. Hard Drives - I understand SATA is better/faster???4. Video Card5. DVD/RW driveI will be implementing a 1000W Power supply because my current 400W sometimes has a hard time powering up all of my 13 USB peripherals.Your input and assistance is sincerely appreciated.Sincerely,Dennis D. Mullert

Geez, the PSU alone will run you $200 to $250 :)If you go that high, make sure you get a PSU that supports the new 8 pin CPU power block, and the PCIE2x spec power. I read good things on the new Toughpower series from Thermaltake in that size. Save yourself a few bucks by not going modular.1. MotherboardP35 board from Gigabyte, DFI or MSI. Asus is reported to have had lots of quality problems this year, especially on products made before Q3. They are now owned by Gigabyte, which is strange, although they used a different manufacturing facility.680i board if you want SLI - MSI has an excellent board out there.CPU, get a Core 2 dual core. FSX can use 4 cores, but that adds beaucoup dollars to the cost.I'd love to say AMD here, but I regret to say I had to switch camps again.Lastly, get a CPU that overclocks well, as you can get high end performance with a mid-range CPU and a $50 air cooler.2. RAM (Type and speed)4Gb of decent ($100) DDR memory - Crucial has good prices. 5.5.5.15 or better for 1066, 4.4.4.12 for 866. Prices on DDR2 just took another nose dive, and you can find good kits for $60 per gig.You will need a 64bit version of the O/S to use 4Gb.3. Hard Drives - I understand SATA is better/faster???Seagate and WD have good 7600RPM drives. I still have a favorite in the WD Raptor 10K rpm drives. 150Gb total should be enough. Sata is the way to go.4. Video Card8800GT is the best bang/buck now (meaning, this week), if you can find one. If you want two NVidias, you have to use an Nvidia chipset. If you want two ATIs (such as the HD3970 that compares well with the 8800GT), need a board with an X38 chipset.Adding a second video card to FSX doesn't do much for frames, although it does help with other titles. I had an SLI setup with dual 7900GTXs, and FSX typically ran slower with two cards than a single card, except at very high resolution with antialiasing. There are several reports of this dual card "deperformance" on FSX (visit TomsHardware). If you can get a single video with higher performance, look into a single 8800GTX rather than 2 8800GTs or 2 ATI 3970. You will not need more than 512Mb of video memory for most games. Nvidia is holding off the new stuff for Q1 based on the new chip in the 8800GT, so you will be better off if you wait. I found a great deal on an 8800Ultra for $500 that will still be faster than two video cards in most titles that are coming out for the holidays. 5. DVD/RW driveAny decent $30 multimode drive will do the trick. My favorite king is still stuff by Plextor.The sad truth is that you have many choices, and the market is so fluid that it will be outdated the moment you press the purchase button. If you accept that, you're good to go.Good websites to visit for general info on various products:TomsHardwarePcper.compcstats.com (see the relative performance of different hardware combinations)hardocp.comanandtech.comAlso read what people say on the parts at newegg.com. Experience may vary, but it's a good background.Be sure to go back a few months as the stuff you probably want has been reviewed over the summer. The newer stuff will cost you a premium.Hope this helps,Etienne

Etienne!You're a saviour and I really appreciate your assistance and input. Duly noted!Thanks again!Sincerely,Dennis D. Mullert

To add to what was saidI would think that a *quality* power supply of 600-700 watts should be enough, unless you're running hair dryers off your USB ports.I think you should look into the 750 watter that PC Power & Cooling has now. This monster should be able to power everything you've got and then some.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817703009It is about $170-$180.When I am building, I generally avoid a modular power supply if I want the most bang-for-buck. If someone wants the ultimate in internal case elegance then of course modular is always an option but I don't usually recommend them.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian

Just to throw a different choice into the mix:Asus P5K motherboardIntel Q6600 processorNvidia 8800 video card with 512M2 GB PC800 memory2 WD Caviar 7200 RPM SATA drivesPSU.. your choiceGood case with variable speed fans.You'll have money left over for a nice LCD widescreen monitor !